Victory in women’s race prior to Kejelcha’s world record in Boston helps Brown complete indoor season with overall PRs in mile and 1,000 meters, along with indoor best in 800

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Ce’Aira Brown ran the fastest mile of her career Sunday, clocking 4 minutes, 28.12 seconds to win the Bruce Lehane Invitational Mile at Boston University Track and Tennis Center.

Then the HOKA ONE ONE New Jersey-New York Track Club team member had the best view in the arena, standing on the infield to watch the fastest indoor mile in history.

“The feeling in the stadium was indescribable,” Brown said. “The fans in Boston are always incredible, but they brought the energy (Sunday).”

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Brown’s performance in the women’s race was an impressive opening act for Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha of the Nike Oregon Project, who broke the 22-year-old world record in the indoor mile by clocking 3:47.01.

Not only did Kejelcha eclipse the 1997 mark of 3:48.45 produced by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj at the Indoor Flanders Meeting in Belgium, he also led eight other finishers under 4 minutes, including HOKA ONE ONE New Jersey-New York Track Club athlete Johnny Gregorek at 3:49.98, the No. 2 performance in U.S. history behind Bernard Lagat’s American indoor record 3:49.89 from 2005.

“It was amazing to witness the world record go down, but I have to give a shout out to my NJNY teammates,” Brown said. “We’re at practice everyday together and I see how hard they work. To watch Johnny G. run 3:49 and the other four guys go sub-4 was amazing.”

Sam Prakel, representing adidas, was third in 3:50.94, followed by Henry Wynne of the Brooks Beasts in 3:51.26 and Nike Oregon Project athlete Craig Engels in 3:53.89. Engels had beaten Wynne, Gregorek and Prakel a week earlier in the Toyota USATF Indoor Championships mile final at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in New York to capture his first national title.

HOKA ONE ONE New Jersey-New York Track Club members Rob Napolitano (3:54.28), Jeremy Hernandez (3:55.66), Travis Mahoney (3:57.86) and Kyle Merber (3:57.92) all elevated into the top 25 in the world this year.

Brown’s mile performance helped her ascend to No. 11 in the world this year, a four-second improvement from her best outdoor effort, which she ran in September in New York.

“With USAs behind me, this was a great opportunity to run fast and have fun in a great racing environment,” said Brown, whose previous indoor best was 4:37.89 on the same track nearly 15 months earlier.

“But joining the sub 4:30 club was definitely on my mind. My plan was to stay close to the rabbit during the first 800 and focus on closing hard.”

Brown and runner-up Heather MacLean of New Balance Boston, who ran 4:29.74, increased the all-time number of American female athletes to break 4:30 in the mile to 80.

It was also a satisfying conclusion to an indoor season where Brown placed third in the fastest 800-meter race in the world this year Feb. 9 at the NYRR Millrose Games, as well as third in the 1,000-meter final Feb. 24 at the Toyota USATF Indoor Championships that produced the top three global marks this season.

“I’m very proud of both of these performances, but the 1,000 at nationals was really special,” Brown said. “I competed hard and was very grateful to walk away with a new indoor PR.”

Brown ranked third in the world in the 1,000 with a personal-best 2:35.62 and was the No. 6 global performer in the 800 with an indoor PR of 1:59.74.

She concluded the indoor season as the only female athlete in the world to run under 2 minutes in the 800, sub-2:36 in the 1,000 and sub-4:29 in the mile.

“I am very proud of the work I have put in this season,” Brown said. “I’ve been working really hard on my strength, which doesn’t always come easy to me as an 800 runner, and it’s so exciting to see that hard work starting to pay off.”

Brown will now shift her focus to duplicating her top-three finish in the 800 from last year at the USATF Outdoor Championships, in order to secure a spot on the American roster in July to compete at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in October in Doha, Qatar.

“I haven’t discussed (the schedule) with my coach yet, but my season will likely shift later since being ready for USAs in July is my main priority,” said Brown, who anticipates competing May 2 at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University.